Life viewed from a Rural perspective since November of 2000.

Wedding Day

Lisa and I attended the wedding of Angie Zak and Matt Bruggeman last Friday in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota. Matt honored me with a request to be a groomsman and so once again I amazed those who measured me for a tuxedo with the fact that I am square.

The wedding was really lovely; Angie made everything simple and elegant. Angie was a beautiful bride while Matt was; well Matt managed to button his shirt correctly with minimal help (just kidding Mattrick.)

I like to be included with any Bruggeman function as the boys and I are like brothers. They are such a close family and even being “like” their brother feels good. I felt proud to be with them and even better when my wife arrived prior to the service to watch us “cannonball” ham buns during the pre-matrimonial feed.

After the service, the wedding party, which numbered over 20, arrived via limousine. I got a little nostalgic on the ride and started taking little mental snapshots for one day when I am old; a freshly-wedded new couple in absolute bliss, Angie’s family and friends and the unbridled, tone-deaf splendor of us all singing along to “Home Sweet Home” in our best-dressed falsettos. It was a unique day that I will re-live but not live again.

My definition of a God smack is a revelation of thought that can vary from a gentle pat on the rear end to an open-handed smack to the head. I have received several of these over time and they are invariably helpful. Every relationship needs the occasional god-smack to keep it moving in the right direction. During the wedding of Matt and Angie, they were asked by Father Huck to hold hands. As most men lose maturity with age, all the groomsmen laughed at Matt’s public show of affection for Angie. Father Huck noticed this and sent us each on a quest to find our spouse, be seated by them and join the bridal couple in spirited hand-holding during his homily.

Father Huck then took each of us, joined at the hand, through a primer on marriage. He didn’t talk only about the work but how to accomplish the work of a successful couple. He said to pray for your spouse and for your marriage. I thought about how nice it was to see my wife in the basement of the church just prior to the service and how proud I was of her. I was sitting at a table across from Frank Bruggeman so he saw Lisa first. I felt a rush of happiness when Frank greeted Lisa with, “Hi Leeseycakes.” The revelation I received from this day was not the excitement I felt when my wife was nearby and it wasn’t that I love Lisa because I know these things. My God smack was that I chose to love Lisa several years ago and that had been an excellent choice.

It’s a good day when two people choose to join together in love for everyone to see. It is even better when they spread that love around through everyone touched by the event. Congratulations Angie and Matt; you accomplished both.